Binding agent and olfaction sensor

ABSTRACT

A vehicle system includes: a blower configured to draw air from within a passenger cabin of a vehicle through an inlet; a binding agent source configured to flow a binding agent into the air; and a sensor disposed downstream of the binding agent source in the direction of airflow, the sensor configured to determine an amount of smoke in the air from within the passenger cabin based on a measured characteristic of particulate at the sensor and a predetermined characteristic of the binding agent.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No.63/067,928, filed on Aug. 20, 2020. The entire disclosure of theapplication referenced above is incorporated herein by reference.

FIELD

The present disclosure relates to vehicles and more particularly tosystems and methods for use of a binding agent with an olfaction sensor.

BACKGROUND

This section provides background information related to the presentdisclosure which is not necessarily prior art.

Vehicles have been recalled due to carbon monoxide entering theirpassenger cabins and for other reasons. Humans may be overcome by carbonmonoxide and lose consciousness.

There may be numerous other situations where chemicals could be presentwithin a passenger cabin of a vehicle. For example, a user may bring anaerosol can in to the passenger cabin of a vehicle and forget to take itout. Due to heat or cold, the aerosol can could emit its contents intothe passenger cabin. One or more users could enter the vehicle later andbreathe the contents without knowledge.

Electric vehicles include one or more batteries that contain chemicals,such as lithium. The batteries may be located under the passenger cabinand, under some circumstances, can rupture and emit chemicals. Somechemicals that may be present within a passenger cabin of a vehicle maybe odorless and colorless.

SUMMARY

In a feature, a vehicle system includes: a blower configured to draw airfrom within a passenger cabin of a vehicle through an inlet; a bindingagent source configured to flow a binding agent into the air; and asensor disposed downstream of the binding agent source in the directionof airflow, the sensor configured to determine an amount of smoke in theair from within the passenger cabin based on a measured characteristicof particulate at the sensor and a predetermined characteristic of thebinding agent.

In further features, the sensor is further configured to determine atype of the smoke within the passenger cabin based on the measuredcharacteristic of the particulate at the sensor and the predeterminedcharacteristic of the binding agent.

In further features, the measured characteristic includes mass.

In further features, an output control module is configured to controlthe binding agent source to flow a predetermined mass of the bindingagent into the air, where the sensor is configured to determine theamount of smoke in the air from within the passenger cabin based on adifference between a mass of the particulate and the predetermined massof the binding agent.

In further features: an output control module is configured to controlthe binding agent source to flow the binding agent into the air; and asecond sensor is configured to measure a second mass of the bindingagent introduced, where the sensor is configured to determine the amountof smoke in the air from within the passenger cabin based on adifference between (a) the mass of the combination of particulate andbinding agent and (b) the second mass of binding agent.

In further features, the measured characteristic includes a mass flowrate of the particulate at the sensor.

In further features, an output control module is configured to controlthe binding agent source to flow the binding agent into the air at apredetermined mass flowrate, where the sensor is configured to determinethe amount of smoke in the air from within the passenger cabin based ona difference between (a) the mass flowrate of the combination ofparticulate and binding agent and (b) the predetermined mass flowrate ofbinding agent.

In further features: an output control module is configured to controlthe binding agent source to flow the binding agent into the air; and asecond sensor configured to measure a second mass flowrate of thebinding agent introduced, where the sensor is configured to determinethe amount of smoke in the air from within the passenger cabin based ona difference between (a) the second mass flowrate of the combination ofparticulate and binding agent; and (b) the second mass flowrate ofbinding agent.

In further features, the measured characteristic includes a dimension ofthe particulate at the sensor.

In further features, an output control module is configured to controlthe binding agent source to flow the binding agent of a predetermineddimension into the air, where the sensor is configured to determine theamount of smoke in the air from within the passenger cabin based on adifference between the dimension measured by the sensor and thepredetermined dimension of the binding agent.

In further features, the measured characteristic includes one of a colorof the particulate at the sensor, an amount of ultraviolet (UV)radiation of the particulate at the sensor, an electromagnetic field(EMF) of the particulate at the sensor, and a flow path at the sensor.

In further features, the measured characteristic includes color and thevehicle system further comprises an output control module configured tocontrol the binding agent source to flow the binding agent of apredetermined color into the air, where the sensor is configured todetermine the amount of smoke in the air from within the passenger cabinbased on a difference between the color measured by the sensor and thepredetermined color.

In further features, the measured characteristic includes the amount ofUV radiation and the vehicle system further comprises an output controlmodule configured to control the binding agent source to flow thebinding agent having a predetermined UV radiation into the air, wherethe sensor is configured to determine the amount of smoke in the airfrom within the passenger cabin based on a difference between the UVradiation measured by the sensor and the predetermined UV radiation.

In further features, the measured characteristic includes the EMF andthe vehicle system further comprises an output control module configuredto control the binding agent source to flow the binding agent having apredetermined EMF into the air, where the sensor is configured todetermine the amount of smoke in the air from within the passenger cabinbased on a difference between the EMF measured by the sensor and thepredetermined EMF.

In further features, a second sensor is disposed upstream of the bindingagent source in the direction of airflow and configured to measure asecond measured characteristic of particulate at the second sensor,where the sensor is configured to determine the amount of smoke in theair from within the passenger cabin further based on the second measuredcharacteristic.

In further features, the binding agent source includes a containerstoring the binding agent and one of an injector, a mister, and anevaporator.

In a feature, a vehicle system includes: a blower configured to draw airfrom within a passenger cabin of a vehicle through an inlet; a bindingagent source configured to flow a binding agent into the air; and asensor disposed downstream of the binding agent source and configured todetermine an amount of smoke in the air within the passenger cabin basedon a measured characteristic of volatile organic compounds at the sensorand a predetermined characteristic of the binding agent.

In further features, the sensor is further configured to determine atype of the smoke within the passenger cabin based on the measuredcharacteristic of the volatile organic compounds at the sensor and thepredetermined characteristic of the binding agent.

In further features, the measured characteristic includes one of a mass,a mass flow rate, a dimension, a color, an amount of ultraviolet (UV)radiation, an electromagnetic field (EMF), and a flow path.

In further features, the binding agent source includes a containerstoring the binding agent and one of an injector, a mister, and anevaporator.

Further areas of applicability of the present disclosure will becomeapparent from the detailed description, the claims and the drawings. Thedetailed description and specific examples are intended for purposes ofillustration only and are not intended to limit the scope of thedisclosure.

DRAWINGS

The drawings described herein are for illustrative purposes only ofselected embodiments and not all possible implementations, and are notintended to limit the scope of the present disclosure.

FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram of an example vehicle system.

FIG. 2 is a diagram including an example olfaction sensor system of avehicle.

FIG. 3 is a functional block diagram of an example control system.

Corresponding reference numerals indicate corresponding parts throughoutthe several views of the drawings.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Example embodiments will now be described more fully with reference tothe accompanying drawings.

A vehicle may include an olfaction sensor that measures the amount ofsmoke within a passenger cabin of the vehicle. Examples of olfactionsensors include VOC sensors, carbon monoxide sensors, and particulatesensors. Olfaction sensors may, however, have difficulty measuring anamount of smoke within the passenger cabin of the vehicle.

The present application involves introducing a binding agent into airfrom the passenger cabin. The binding agent combines with smoke in theair and changes one or more characteristics when combined with smoke.For example, a change may occur in mass, mass flow rate, one or moredimensions, ultraviolet radiation, electromagnetic force (EMF), color,etc. The olfaction sensor determines the amount of smoke based on one ormore characteristics of the air measured by the olfaction sensorrelative to the one or more characteristics of the binding agent itself.

FIG. 1 includes a functional block diagram including an example vehicle5. The vehicle 5 includes a control module 8 and one or more olfactionsensors, such as olfaction sensor 10. Examples of olfaction sensors invehicles include, for example, particulate matter sensors, carbonmonoxide (or other carbon oxide) sensors, volatile organic compound(VOC) sensors, and other types of olfaction sensors. The vehicle 5 mayinclude one or more different types of olfaction sensors.

The olfaction sensor(s) are each configured to measure an amount of oneor more chemicals within a passenger cabin of the vehicle 5. Forexample, the vehicle 5 may include a particulate matter sensorconfigured to measure one or more amounts (e.g., concentrations or massflow rates) of particulate of one or more different sizes in air withinthe passenger cabin. Additionally or alternatively, the vehicle 5 mayinclude a carbon monoxide sensor configured to measure an amount (e.g.,concentration) of carbon monoxide in air within the passenger cabin.Additionally or alternatively, the vehicle 5 may include a VOC sensorconfigured to measure an amount (e.g., concentration) of VOCs within thepassenger cabin.

The control module 8 may receive the measurements from the olfactionsensor(s) and take one or more remedial actions based on themeasurements. For example, when one or more amount of one or morechemicals (e.g., particulate, carbon monoxide, VOCs) measured by one ormore olfaction sensors is/are greater than one or more respectivepredetermined amount/s (e.g., of particulate matter, carbon monoxide, orVOCs, respectively), the control module 8 may take one or more remedialactions. The predetermined amount/s is/are greater than zero.

For example, the control module 8 may open one or more windows 12 of thevehicle 5 when the amount of a chemical is greater than thepredetermined amount. Additionally or alternatively, the control module8 may generate an alert within the vehicle 5 when the amount of achemical is greater than the predetermined amount. For example, thecontrol module 8 may generate or display a visual alert, such as via avisual indicator 14 that is visible within the passenger cabin of thevehicle 5. The visual indicator 14 may be, for example, one or moreindicator lights, a display, or another suitable type of visualindicator. Additionally or alternatively, the control module 8 mayoutput an audible alert, such as via one or more speakers. Additionallyor alternatively, the control module 8 may output a tactile alert, suchas via turning on one or more vibrating devices, such as located in oneor more seats, in a steering wheel, or in another suitable location.

Additionally or alternatively, the control module 8 may turn on aheating ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) system 16 of the vehicle5 when the amount of a chemical is greater than the predeterminedamount. The control module 8 may, for example, turn on a blower of theHVAC system 16 and control one or more actuators of the HVAC system 16to recirculate air from within the passenger cabin to outside of thepassenger cabin. This is discussed in more detail below.

Additionally or alternatively, the control module 8 may store anindicator in memory of the vehicle when the amount of a chemical isgreater than the predetermined amount. The indicator may indicate thatthe amount of the chemical was greater than the predetermined amount.The control module 8 may also store a time stamp (e.g., including a dateand a time of the occurrence) with the indicator.

Additionally or alternatively, the control module 8 may transmit anindicator to a remote device 20, such as of a fleet operator, when theamount of a chemical is greater than the predetermined amount. Thecontrol module 8 may transmit the indicator via one or morecommunication networks, such as a cellular communication network, asatellite communication network, a Wi-Fi communication network, oranother suitable type of communication network.

FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram of an example implementation of anolfaction sensor system, such as an olfaction sensor 100. The olfactionsensor system may be implemented within the HVAC system 16 (e.g., in aduct of the HVAC system 16) or in another location within the passengercabin of the vehicle 5. As discussed above, the vehicle 5 may includemultiple olfaction sensors.

Smoke (e.g., tobacco smoke) in air may be difficult to measure by anolfaction sensor. The present application involves introducing a bindingagent that binds with smoke in air that makes the smoke more easilymeasurable/detectable by an olfaction sensor. A predetermined (known)amount of the binding agent may be introduced. The amount of smokepresent may be detected by measuring the combined amounts of smoke andbinding agent and subtracting the known amount of the binding agentintroduced.

The binding agent may be a particle (solid, liquid, or gas) that bindswith the smoke particles. Once bound to smoke, the combination (bindingagent and smoke) may fall in a predetermined range (e.g., size, mass,etc.) that other types of particulates would not interfere withreading/measuring. Higher contrast between smoke and other constituentsis provided by combining smoke particulates with another particulate(the binding agent). The binding agent may, for example, adhere to thesmoke, electrostatically bind to smoke, change a color of the smoke,cause a ultraviolet (UV) shift in the smoke, cause a change inelectromagnetic force (EMF) of the smoke, etc.

In various implementations, the binding agent may be a protein thatbinds to a specific VOC (e.g., of smoke). The combined protein structurecan be detected by another type of sensor, agent, or biologic mechanism.

As stated above, air within the vehicle may include smoke, such as whena passenger within the passenger cabin is smoking a cigarette, cigar,pipe, or other type of smoking device including electronic smokingdevices and conventional smoking devices. Air may be drawn through aninlet 104 for measurement of an amount of smoke (e.g., a particular VOC)in the air.

For example, a blower 108 may draw air through the inlet 104 and to asensor 112 (e.g., a VOC sensor or a particulate matter sensor). WhileFIG. 2 includes the example of the blower 108 drawing air to the sensor112, the blower 108 may be located in another suitable location. Forexample, the blower 108 may be implemented upstream of the sensor 112and blow air to the sensor 112. After measurement, the air may exitthrough an outlet 116.

A binding agent source 120 adds a binding agent to the air upstream ofthe sensor 112 such that the sensor 112 receives a combination of thebinding agent and smoke. For example, the binding agent source mayinject the binding agent into the air.

The binding agent may be, for example, an aerosol, a liquid, a vapor, agas, a solid, a protein, a combination of two or more of the above, oranother suitable type of material that combines with, binds with, orotherwise changes one or more characteristics of smoke in air. Thebinding agent source 120 may include a supply of the binding agent(e.g., a container storing the binding agent) and a device that providesthe binding agent, such as an injector, a mister (e.g., ultrasonic,sonic, etc.), or another suitable type device that outputs, adds,injects, or flows binding agent to air. In another example, the bindingagent source 120 provides (e.g., drips) liquid binding agent onto asubstrate where the binding agent evaporates.

An output control module 124 controls the output of the binding agent bythe binding agent source 120. The output control module 124 may, forexample, control opening of a valve of the binding agent source 120 orwhether the binding agent source 120 is on (and outputting bindingagent) or off (and not outputting binding agent).

In various implementations, the output control module 124 may controlthe binding agent source 120 to output a predetermined amount (e.g.,mass) of the binding agent. The predetermined amount is greater thanzero and may be calibrated and set, for example, to completely combinewith a predetermined maximum possible amount of smoke present in air. Invarious implementations, the output control module 124 may control thebinding agent source 120 to output the binding agent for a predeterminedperiod. The predetermined period is greater than zero seconds and may becalibrated and set, for example, based on a period for accuratemeasurement by the sensor 112. The predetermined period may be set tocause the predetermined amount of binding agent to be introduced. Invarious implementations, the output control module 124 may control thebinding agent source 120 to output the binding agent at a predeterminedmass flow rate. The predetermined mass flow rate is greater than zeroand may be calibrated.

In various implementations, a sensor 128 may be implemented (e.g.,within the binding agent source 120) and measure an amount of bindingagent introduced. In this case, the measured amount of binding agentintroduced may be used in place of a predetermined amount of bindingagent (e.g., mass, mass flowrate, etc.).

The binding agent causes one or more changes to smoke (e.g., insize/dimension, color, mass, mass flow rate, UV characteristic, EMF,etc.) in the air. The size/dimension may be, for example, a length,width, height, volume, area, radius, diameter, circumference, etc. TheUV characteristic may be an amount of UV radiation. The EMF may be, forexample, a magnitude of EMF generated and/or a polarity. Flow path isanother example. Binding agent that is not bound with smoke may move inone flow path (e.g., less vibratory, smaller vertical displacement dueto gravity, less circularly, etc.) while binding agent bound with smokemay move in a different flow path (e.g., more vibratory, larger verticaldisplacement due to gravity, more circularly, etc.).

The sensor 112 measures the combination of smoke and binding agent ifany smoke is present in the air. The sensor 112 may determine the amountof smoke in the air based on one or more characteristics of thecombination. The sensor 112 may also determine the type of smoke in theair (e.g., tobacco, marijuana, etc.) based on one or more measuredcharacteristics of the combination.

For example, in the example of mass, the sensor 112 may determine theamount of smoke in the air based on the amount of the combination andthe predetermined amount of binding agent added. The sensor 112 maydetermine the amount of smoke in the air, for example, using one of alookup table and an equation that relates amounts of the combination toamounts of smoke in the air. For example, the sensor 112 may set theamount of smoke based on or equal to the mass of the combination minusthe predetermined amount (mass) of the binding agent added. The sensor112 may determine the type of smoke in the air, for example, using oneof a lookup table and an equation that relates amounts of thecombination to types of smoke in the air. In this example, the sensor112 may include a mass sensor. For example, a mass flow rate sensor maymeasure a mass flow rate, and a mathematical integral of the mass flowrate may be used to determine the mass.

In the example of mass flow rate, the sensor 112 may determine theamount of smoke in the air based on the mass flow rate of thecombination and the predetermined mass flow rate of binding agent added.The sensor 112 may determine the amount of smoke in the air, forexample, using one of a lookup table and an equation that relates massflow rate of the combination to mass flow rate of smoke in the air. Forexample, the sensor 112 may set the amount of smoke based on or equal tothe mass flow rate of the combination minus the predetermined mass flowrate of the binding agent added. In this example, the sensor 112 mayinclude a mass flow rate sensor.

In the example of color, UV, or EMF, the binding agent may havepredetermined known characteristics in terms of color, UV, or EMF. Thesensor 112 may determine the amount of smoke in the air based on thecolor of the combination relative to the color of the binding agentitself. The sensor 112 may determine the type of smoke in the air basedon the color of the combination relative to the color of the bindingagent itself. In the example of color, the sensor 112 may include anoptical sensor, such as a camera.

In the example of UV, the sensor 112 may determine the amount of smokein the air based on a UV characteristic of the combination relative to aUV characteristic of the binding agent itself. The sensor 112 maydetermine the type of smoke in the air based on a UV characteristic ofthe combination relative to a UV characteristic of the binding agent. Inthis example, the sensor 112 may be a UV sensor or a camera.

In the example of EMF, the sensor 112 may determine the amount of smokein the air based on an EMF of the combination relative to an EMF of thebinding agent itself. The sensor 112 may determine the type of smoke inthe air based on an EMF of the combination relative to an EMF of thebinding agent itself. In the example of EMF, the sensor 112 may includean EMF sensor.

In the example of flow path, the sensor 112 may determine the amount ofsmoke in the air based on a measured path of the combination relative toa predetermined flow path of the binding agent itself.

Stated generally, the sensor 112 may determine that a greater amount ofsmoke is present in the air as the characteristic of the combinationdeviates further from the characteristic of the binding agent itself,and vice versa.

By introducing binding agent, smoke in the air can be more easilydetected and measured and identified by the sensor 112.

In various implementations, an upstream sensor 132 may be implementedupstream of the binding agent source 120 and measure the characteristicof air before the introduction of the binding agent. The upstream sensor132 may measure the characteristic of the air before introduction of thebinding agent. The sensor 112 may determine the amount of smoke in theair further based on the measurement from the upstream sensor 132.

FIG. 3 is a functional block diagram of an example implementation of acontrol system. As discussed above, one or more olfaction sensors may beincluded, such as at least one of a VOC sensor, a particulate mattersensor, and a carbon monoxide sensor. The olfaction sensor 100 of FIG. 3may be a VOC sensor, a particulate matter sensor, or a carbon monoxidesensor. In various implementations, the olfaction sensor 100 may includetwo or more of a VOC sensor, a particulate matter sensor, and a carbonmonoxide sensor.

A comparison module 504 compares a measurement from the olfaction sensor100 with a predetermined value and generates an output signal based onthe comparison. The measurement may be, for example, an amount ofparticulate, an amount of VOCs, or an amount of carbon monoxide. Thecomparison module 504 may set the output signal to the first state whenthe measurement is less than the predetermined value and set the outputsignal to a second state when the measurement is greater than or equalto the predetermined value.

The comparison module 504 may obtain the predetermined value from memory508. The predetermined value is greater than zero and may be a fixedpredetermined value. Alternatively, the predetermined value may bevariable. For example, a baseline module 512 may determine a baselinevalue and set the predetermined value to the baseline value. Thebaseline module 512 may set the baseline value, for example, based orequal to an average of the measurements from the olfaction sensor 100taken over a predetermined period, such as a week or a month. An averagemay be determined by summing the measurements and dividing by the numberof measurements summed.

One or more remedial actions may be taken when the output signal of thecomparison module 504 is in the second state. For example, a windowactuator module 516 controls actuation (opening and closing) of one ormore window actuators, such as window actuator 520, of the vehicle. Thewindow actuator 520 opens (e.g., lowers) and closes (e.g., raises) awindow of the vehicle. The window actuator module 516 may control one ormore window actuators to open one, more than one, or all of the windowsof the vehicle when the output signal of the comparison module 504 is inthe second state. Opening the window(s) may include, for example,opening the window(s) to a partially open position further than thewindow(s) is/are presently open or opening the window(s) to a fully openposition.

Additionally or alternatively, an alert module 524 may generate an alert(e.g., visually the visual indicator 14, audibly via one or morespeakers, and/or haptically via one or more vibrating devices) when theoutput signal of the comparison module 504 is in the second state.Additionally or alternatively, a blower control module 528 may turn on ablower 532 of the HVAC system when the output signal of the comparisonmodule 504 is in the second state.

Additionally or alternatively, a communication module 540 may wirelesslytransmit an indicator to the remote device 20 via one or more antennas544 when the output signal of the comparison module 504 is in the secondstate. Additionally or alternatively, a storage module 548 may store anindicator in the memory 508 when the output signal of the comparisonmodule 504 is in the second state. The indicator may indicate that theamount of the chemical was greater than the predetermined value. Thestorage module 548 may also store a time stamp (e.g., including a dateand a time of the occurrence) with the indicator. A clock 552 may trackthe date and time.

The foregoing description of the embodiments has been provided forpurposes of illustration and description. It is not intended to beexhaustive or to limit the disclosure. Individual elements or featuresof a particular embodiment are generally not limited to that particularembodiment, but, where applicable, are interchangeable and can be usedin a selected embodiment, even if not specifically shown or described.The same may also be varied in many ways. Such variations are not to beregarded as a departure from the disclosure, and all such modificationsare intended to be included within the scope of the disclosure.

Example embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will bethorough, and will fully convey the scope to those who are skilled inthe art. Numerous specific details are set forth such as examples ofspecific components, devices, and methods, to provide a thoroughunderstanding of embodiments of the present disclosure. It will beapparent to those skilled in the art that specific details need not beemployed, that example embodiments may be embodied in many differentforms and that neither should be construed to limit the scope of thedisclosure. In some example embodiments, well-known processes,well-known device structures, and well-known technologies are notdescribed in detail.

In this application, including the definitions below, the terms “module”and “system” may refer to, be part of, or include circuits or circuitrythat may include processor hardware (shared, dedicated, or group) thatexecutes code and memory hardware (shared, dedicated, or group) thatstores code executed by the processor hardware. The code is configuredto provide the features of the modules and systems described herein. Inaddition, in this application the terms “module” and “system” may bereplaced with the term “circuit.” The term “memory hardware” may be asubset of the term computer-readable medium. The term computer-readablemedium does not encompass transitory electrical and electromagneticsignals propagating through a medium, and may therefore be consideredtangible and non-transitory. Non-limiting examples of a non-transitorytangible computer readable medium include nonvolatile memory, volatilememory, magnetic storage, and optical storage.

The apparatuses and methods described in this application may bepartially or fully implemented by a special purpose computer created byconfiguring a general purpose computer to execute one or more particularfunctions embodied in computer programs. The functional blocks,flowchart components, and other elements described above serve assoftware specifications, which can be translated into the computerprograms by the routine work of a skilled technician or programmer.

The computer programs include processor-executable instructions that arestored on at least one non-transitory, tangible computer-readablemedium. The computer programs may also include or rely on stored data.The computer programs may encompass a basic input/output system (BIOS)that interacts with hardware of the special purpose computer, devicedrivers that interact with particular devices of the special purposecomputer, one or more operating systems, user applications, backgroundservices, background applications, etc.

The computer programs may include: (i) descriptive text to be parsed,such as JavaScript Object Notation (JSON), hypertext markup language(HTML) or extensible markup language (XML); (ii) assembly code; (iii)object code generated from source code by a compiler; (iv) source codefor execution by an interpreter; (v) source code for compilation andexecution by a just-in-time compiler, etc. As examples only, source codemay be written using syntax from languages including C, C++, C#,Objective C, Haskell, Go, SQL, R, Lisp, Java®, Fortran, Perl, Pascal,Curl, OCaml, Javascript®, HTML5, Ada, ASP (active server pages), PHP,Scala, Eiffel, Smalltalk, Erlang, Ruby, Flash®, Visual Basic®, Lua, andPython®.

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particularexample embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting. As usedherein, the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” may be intended toinclude the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicatesotherwise. The terms “comprises,” “comprising,” “including,” and“having,” are inclusive and therefore specify the presence of statedfeatures, integers, steps, operations, elements, and/or components, butdo not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features,integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and/or groupsthereof. The method steps, processes, and operations described hereinare not to be construed as necessarily requiring their performance inthe particular order discussed or illustrated, unless specificallyidentified as an order of performance. It is also to be understood thatadditional or alternative steps may be employed.

When an element or layer is referred to as being “on,” “engaged to,”“connected to,” or “coupled to” another element or layer, it may bedirectly on, engaged, connected or coupled to the other element orlayer, or intervening elements or layers may be present. In contrast,when an element is referred to as being “directly on,” “directly engagedto,” “directly connected to,” or “directly coupled to” another elementor layer, there may be no intervening elements or layers present. Otherwords used to describe the relationship between elements should beinterpreted in a like fashion (e.g., “between” versus “directlybetween,” “adjacent” versus “directly adjacent,” etc.). As used herein,the term “and/or” includes any and all combinations of one or more ofthe associated listed items.

Although the terms first, second, third, etc. may be used herein todescribe various elements, components, regions, layers and/or sections,these elements, components, regions, layers and/or sections should notbe limited by these terms. These terms may be only used to distinguishone element, component, region, layer or section from another region,layer or section. Terms such as “first,” “second,” and other numericalterms when used herein do not imply a sequence or order unless clearlyindicated by the context. Thus, a first element, component, region,layer or section discussed below could be termed a second element,component, region, layer or section without departing from the teachingsof the example embodiments.

Spatially relative terms, such as “inner,” “outer,” “beneath,” “below,”“lower,” “above,” “upper,” and the like, may be used herein for ease ofdescription to describe one element or feature's relationship to anotherelement(s) or feature(s) as illustrated in the figures. Spatiallyrelative terms may be intended to encompass different orientations ofthe device in use or operation in addition to the orientation depictedin the figures. For example, if the device in the figures is turnedover, elements described as “below” or “beneath” other elements orfeatures would then be oriented “above” the other elements or features.Thus, the example term “below” can encompass both an orientation ofabove and below. The device may be otherwise oriented (rotated 90degrees or at other orientations) and the spatially relative descriptorsused herein interpreted accordingly.

What is claimed is:
 1. A vehicle system, comprising: a blower configured to draw air from within a passenger cabin of a vehicle through an inlet; a binding agent source configured to flow a binding agent into the air; and a sensor disposed downstream of the binding agent source in the direction of airflow, the sensor configured to determine an amount of smoke in the air from within the passenger cabin based on a measured characteristic of particulate at the sensor and a predetermined characteristic of the binding agent.
 2. The vehicle system of claim 1 wherein the sensor is further configured to determine a type of the smoke within the passenger cabin based on the measured characteristic of the particulate at the sensor and the predetermined characteristic of the binding agent.
 3. The vehicle system of claim 1 wherein the measured characteristic includes mass.
 4. The vehicle system of claim 3 further comprising an output control module configured to control the binding agent source to flow a predetermined mass of the binding agent into the air, wherein the sensor is configured to determine the amount of smoke in the air from within the passenger cabin based on a difference between a mass of the particulate and the predetermined mass of the binding agent.
 5. The vehicle system of claim 3 further comprising: an output control module configured to control the binding agent source to flow the binding agent into the air; and a second sensor configured to measure a second mass of the binding agent introduced, wherein the sensor is configured to determine the amount of smoke in the air from within the passenger cabin based on a difference between (a) the mass of the combination of particulate and binding agent and (b) the second mass of binding agent.
 6. The vehicle system of claim 1 wherein the measured characteristic includes a mass flow rate of the particulate at the sensor.
 7. The vehicle system of claim 6 further comprising an output control module configured to control the binding agent source to flow the binding agent into the air at a predetermined mass flowrate, wherein the sensor is configured to determine the amount of smoke in the air from within the passenger cabin based on a difference between (a) the mass flowrate of the combination of particulate and binding agent and (b) the predetermined mass flowrate of binding agent.
 8. The vehicle system of claim 3 further comprising: an output control module configured to control the binding agent source to flow the binding agent into the air; and a second sensor configured to measure a second mass flowrate of the binding agent introduced, wherein the sensor is configured to determine the amount of smoke in the air from within the passenger cabin based on a difference between (a) the second mass flowrate of the combination of particulate and binding agent; and (b) the second mass flowrate of binding agent.
 9. The vehicle system of claim 1 wherein the measured characteristic includes a dimension of the particulate at the sensor.
 10. The vehicle system of claim 9 further comprising an output control module configured to control the binding agent source to flow the binding agent of a predetermined dimension into the air, wherein the sensor is configured to determine the amount of smoke in the air from within the passenger cabin based on a difference between the dimension measured by the sensor and the predetermined dimension of the binding agent.
 11. The vehicle system of claim 1 wherein the measured characteristic includes one of a color of the particulate at the sensor, an amount of ultraviolet (UV) radiation of the particulate at the sensor, an electromagnetic field (EMF) of the particulate at the sensor, and a flow path at the sensor.
 12. The vehicle system of claim 11 wherein the measured characteristic includes color and the vehicle system further comprises an output control module configured to control the binding agent source to flow the binding agent of a predetermined color into the air, wherein the sensor is configured to determine the amount of smoke in the air from within the passenger cabin based on a difference between the color measured by the sensor and the predetermined color.
 13. The vehicle system of claim 11 wherein the measured characteristic includes the amount of UV radiation and the vehicle system further comprises an output control module configured to control the binding agent source to flow the binding agent having a predetermined UV radiation into the air, wherein the sensor is configured to determine the amount of smoke in the air from within the passenger cabin based on a difference between the UV radiation measured by the sensor and the predetermined UV radiation.
 14. The vehicle system of claim 11 wherein the measured characteristic includes the EMF and the vehicle system further comprises an output control module configured to control the binding agent source to flow the binding agent having a predetermined EMF into the air, wherein the sensor is configured to determine the amount of smoke in the air from within the passenger cabin based on a difference between the EMF measured by the sensor and the predetermined EMF.
 15. The vehicle system of claim 1 further comprising a second sensor disposed upstream of the binding agent source in the direction of airflow and configured to measure a second measured characteristic of particulate at the second sensor, wherein the sensor is configured to determine the amount of smoke in the air from within the passenger cabin further based on the second measured characteristic.
 16. The vehicle system of claim 1 wherein the binding agent source includes a container storing the binding agent and one of an injector, a mister, and an evaporator.
 17. A vehicle system, comprising: a blower configured to draw air from within a passenger cabin of a vehicle through an inlet; a binding agent source configured to flow a binding agent into the air; and a sensor disposed downstream of the binding agent source and configured to determine an amount of smoke in the air within the passenger cabin based on a measured characteristic of volatile organic compounds at the sensor and a predetermined characteristic of the binding agent.
 18. The vehicle system of claim 17 wherein the sensor is further configured to determine a type of the smoke within the passenger cabin based on the measured characteristic of the volatile organic compounds at the sensor and the predetermined characteristic of the binding agent.
 19. The vehicle system of claim 17 wherein the measured characteristic includes one of a mass, a mass flow rate, a dimension, a color, an amount of ultraviolet (UV) radiation, an electromagnetic field (EMF), and a flow path.
 20. The vehicle system of claim 17 wherein the binding agent source includes a container storing the binding agent and one of an injector, a mister, and an evaporator. 